The clock is counting down, and 2021 is dwindling away. As so many would love to push it over the edge and welcome a new year and a fresh start, there are still a few days left.

With the holidays almost behind us, most adults – young, old, single, married, parents, or not – tend to begin dreaming of the upcoming year and everything good it will bring. A new year signifies change, and a clean slate (and hopefully, normalcy). But so many of us parents have learned that resolutions are a lot harder to keep when trying to balance life and children.

We even try to let the kids in on creating the resolutions, but what example are we setting when these goals are forgotten within weeks of the new year? A few years ago, someone created the hashtag #MyOneWord, and I am loving the concept for 2022. "My One Word" is exactly what it sounds like: foregoing a list of resolutions and choosing one word to live by for the new year. If you start googling, you will find thousands of word options, but I suggest you sit down and think through your choice; it will be more meaningful and lasting if you do so.

One Word Resolution Ideas

Strength: Physically, emotionally, verbally, or spiritually accomplishing something each day that makes me a stronger person.

Beauty: Find something beautiful (myself, the weather, my children’s laugh) within each day.

Act: Stop reacting to everything around me and act instead.

Peace: Practice deep breaths and find peace in the hard moments.

Listen: Work on hearing others before inputting my own thoughts – especially with the kids.

Focus: Complete one task at a time until completion before moving to the next.

Love: Show and feel love each day.

Grace: Handle myself with grace.

Enough: Remembering that I am enough and I do not need to change to become better.

Growth: Work each day to learn something – a hobby, work growth or internal growth.

Savor: Sit and soak in a moment each day.

Save: Make a point to keep a financial goal in mind every day, and then put money away.

Connect: Every relationship needs a connection, and that connection needs maintenance.

Simplify: Let go of extra commitments and purge of excess crap. Live simpler and enjoy the breathing room.

Happy: Find joy everyday – pursue something I love, go on date nights, play with the kids, and enjoy the wine. The beauty is that each word can embody so many categories of life. You can apply any of these to a relationship, parenthood, friendships, or internal care. I think that’s what makes this resolution so easily life-altering; each day it can be applied how it is needed.